Kenny Nolan returns to disco in 1979

[remicks]

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In the earlier disco days ....Kenny Nolan and Bob Crewe got along famously ....pleasing the disco crowds with such joyous contributions as LADY MARMALADE , HOLLYWOOD HOT and several tunes from Disco Tex ....

Then the fun between them vanished .....and a much more subdued (former Sex-o-lette ) Kenny reemerged in 1977 with an album on Polydor with nary a diso thump in earshot ... It did contain 20th Century record's best charting single on it though .... I LIKE DREAMING .... but nothing remotely comparable to the wild creations he and Bob concocted together .
In 1979 both Crewe and Nolan got the boogie fever again .... but regrettably not as a duo .... with Crewe working on the exquisite Frankie Valli SOUL lp featuring HEAVEN ABOVE US on MCA ( released in 1980) ...

while Kenny put out his own lp on Casablanca called NIGHT MIRACLES ....... Unfortunately for him .... Casablanca was releasing every and anything it could get its hands on at this time .... and this release helped to define the "glut" in the "disco glut" of 1979.
Its not awful I guess .... as I relisten .... just not wonderful .... Kenny fancies himself quite the lyricists .... but I think this album champions the idea of some that disco shouldn't be about lyrics .... or rather, as in this case ... if you want to enjoy this stuff ... its sometimes best to ignore them !!

I think the song MOTOR WORKOUT (YOU GOT HORSEPOWER ) is a good example of a bad example ....doesn't the title alone suggest that this theme might've sounded workable initially ...but with further review .... "you got horsepower " :-P:-P . He probably figured .... hey, if the Commodores can pull off .... "she's a brick....house " ......
(One would never know this was Nolan on this one.... as he showcases his much funkier side) ....

but beyond the question of how many times can a person listen to the line
You got you got you got you got horsepower :razz: ...

...isn't this stange songwriting :
Early lyrics in the song :

Use that carburetor and accelerator
Jump up , turn your body on
Now you're in the clear
Use your passin' gear
Get your motor work out now ....

and then by the end of the song he's saying ....

Easy now
I like it like that (nasty giggle)
Yea. Nice and slow
Yea yea mmmmmmmmmmmmm :lol::roll:

Then back to:
You got you got you got you got horsepower ....

use your horsepower .... to slow down ??? that jus' don't make no sense at all !!!:-P:-P:-P

Well ...this album doesn't convince me any differently whether Kenny was the one between these two that most liked and understood disco....
but it's a good find for anyone who likes Bee Gee mimicking music ... ....


The most provocative thing on here is his own performance of his little known 1975 ( Bob Crewe days ) disco song
RIDE A WILD HORSE
as to why he wanted to resurrect this silly horse galloping ditty four years later ???? ..... (album filler ?? )
in which he sings with a Bee Gees voice :

Come on ride a wild horse
Tame me , claim me .....make me yours ..... ....ah yes .... the "wild" pleasures of those good ol' earlier disco days ....even worth recalling for Kenny Nolan I guess ............. ( suppose that's what he was "dreaming" about ??)


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[remicks]

Originally Posted by remicks

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The most provocative thing on here is his own performance of his little known 1975 ( Bob Crewe days ) disco song
RIDE A WILD HORSE
as to why he wanted to resurrect this silly horse galloping ditty four years later ???? ..... (album filler ?? )
in which he sings with a Bee Gees voice :

Come on ride a wild horse
Tame me , claim me .....make me yours ..... ....ah yes .... the "wild" pleasures of those good ol' earlier disco days .... worth recalling even for Kenny Nolan I guess .............

Don't want it to seem I'm forever bagging on Kenny Nolan ... so let me say right now that if he never did any other song than
Jim Gilstrap's
SWING YOUR DADDY
he'd forever have endearance from me ...


NOW ... on that same Jim Gilstrap album that has SWING YOUR DADDY

Kenny provides one other song :

TAKE YOUR DADDY FOR A RIDE
.... another horsey riding song .....

Take your daddy for a ride
RIde on
Ride your pony
Ride On

...the instrumental part is superb... but what's up with these ongoing brokeback lyrics ????

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